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Stacy Keibler hits Spike's Video Game Awards (sans Clooney)

December 12, 2011 | 4:39
pm

In keeping with Spike TV's grand tradition of honoring gamers with world-premiere trailers and hot girls, George Clooney's girlfriend, Stacy Keibler, stepped out Saturday for the network's annual Video Game Awards.

Keibler and her legs-till-Tuesday rolled over in a little black dress to Culver City's Sony Pictures, which has been taken over by the VGAs, with host Zachary Levi and presenters including Brooklyn Decker, Seth Green and LL Cool J.

Prolific TV honcho Mark Burnett served as executive producer this year, boasting impressive effects for the live telecast and a few major guests — including Shigeru Miyamoto, the Nintendo wizard who invented game franchises such as Donkey Kong and the Mario Bros. series.

Charlie Sheen stopped by to hand out the prize for best first-person shooting game ("Will there be chicks?" he said he asked his agent when approached to present), while rapper the Game cut a slimmed-down figure.

"You know, film is a passive experience. You get swept away by narrative and character," said Casey Patterson, Spike's VP in charge of live events across the board. "But with this market, you get the crazy, Spielberg-level talent writing and creating games — and you can interact within in that.

"It's beyond huge. Call of Duty made $400 million in a day," Patterson added, referring to the most recent release in the popular Modern Warfare franchise. "That's more than 'Avatar.' "

Fanboys Sean William Scott and Jason Biggs dropped by, and we spotted retired wrestler Keibler taking advantage of a night out without George Clooney to catch up with old pals, including Hulk Hogan.

Though it was a gaming fete with some Hollywood peppered on top, the VGAs also boasted a philanthropic angle: For the troops, many of whom have lived a first-person shooting experience that's far from a game, Spike promoted its Hire a Veteran program to place returning soldiers back in the workplace.